Ep. 473 – Kelly Higgins (Athletic Director, Alfred State)

Kelly Higgins has served as athletic director of four NCAA institutions, driving revenue by making hard choices and trying to innovate despite not having a Division-I athletic department (save for D-I hockey at Alaska Fairbanks). Higgins discusses some of the feats he was able to pull off, such as the exempted “Top Of The World” Classic which drew in several D-I basketball teams to face D-I competition, on a regional cable network from a deal that Higgins crafted. Getting deeper into the details, Higgins talks about selling South Dakota on coaching staffs, renovating areas into fields and building a championship mentality at Fort Lewis College. Now at Alfred State, Higgins has a new challenge ahead of him, to define the identity of what Alfred State is and is not, within the perimeters of NCAA or NAIA. Twitter: @OldNumber83